Shovels and rakes have been around for many decades but none are suitable for gathering objects that are easily damaged. Such objects include fruit of many types.
Shovels require a scooping and lifting action that is unsatisfactory for several reasons. The scooping and lifting action places excessive strain on the back of a person doing the shoveling. In addition, the shovel often has a shallow storage area. Also, the gathering area is generally flat, permitting round-like objects to inadvertently leave the scoop when the shovel is repeatedly used to gather the objects before transferring them elsewhere.
Rakes require a pulling action that is unsatisfactory for different reasons. While a pulling action to concentrate objects causes less strain on a person's back, a person must then stoop to pick up the objects or do another step such as transfer them in to a basket for carrying.
Rakes with storage sections are known but also have problems. The raking motion is less stressful on a person's back as mentioned above. However, the known devices have specific uses such as for gathering hard objects such as, for example, clams or golf balls. These devices generally are unsuitable for gathering round-like soft objects such as, for example, apples, oranges, peaches and other fruit. The fruit easily spills out if the device is used repeatedly to gather more fruit before the device is used to transfer the fruit to another location. Also, the gathering area generally has exposed tines suitable for digging in sand, dirt or other surfaces. These tines can also damage soft objects such as fruit.
There is a need for an apparatus for gathering soft, round-like objects such as fruit without adversely damaging the objects and rendering them less useful.